1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to quilting, needlework and other textile holding frames, and more particularly to improvements in the art of textile holding frames to facilitate the support, retention, and/or tensioning of the textile or other materials for comfortable and efficient use, and the maintenance of proper tension on the textile or other materials to be worked.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Quilting frames and other textile supporting frames have traditionally been constructed from various types of wood, and have frequently included some form of structure for orienting the materials to be worked into a comfortable position for the user. The simplest wooden frames were four lengths of wood arranged in a rectangle, temporarily attached at the corners with metal clamps usually supported on chairs over which was stretched the basted quilt to be worked. These tensioned the quilt adequately, and were inexpensive, but were awkward, essentially immobile, required basting of the quilt "sandwich" before actual quilting, and took up a large amount of space. The more sophisticated wooden frames included three or even four rotating parallel wooden poles with a support for positioning the frame in a comfortable position. The first rotating pole farthest from the quilter held the fabric which would comprise the top surface/side of the quilt; the second rotating pole held a supply of fabric and batting which would comprise the underside and middle batting layer of the quilt; and the third rotating pole received the three layers comprising the finished quilt after the quilting operation had been completed. Structure was provided for applying the necessary tension to each of the rotating poles to tension the quilt "sandwich" ready for quilting, generally a ratchet mechanism. Advantages of the three pole frames are the ability to quilt without first basting the quilting layers together, and retaining the textile totally on the frame members for cleanliness and neatness. Although generally satisfactory, the most sophisticated wooden frames using the two, three or four rotating pole design are often expensive to produce, large, immobile, heavy, and difficult to assemble for use and to disassemble for storage.
Kramer U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,522 discloses a quilting/textile frame that represents an improvement over the prior art wooden frame designs. The '522 patent discloses a generally rectangular frame that is somewhat analogous to a large embroidery hoop in function, and is formed from lightweight but firm tubular plastic material (PVC) held together with plastic pressure connections along with permanently attached connections, and uses crescent shaped clamp members that are snap fitted over the textile and rod member for tensioning the textile. As compared with prior art wooden frames, the device disclosed in the '522 patent is lightweight, easy to store, relatively easy to assemble and disassemble, easy to move, easy to tension the textile through rotation around the smooth stationary frame member, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. However, the crescent shaped clamp members disclosed in the '522 patent can be difficult to install, and because of the snap fit and lack of a place to grip the clamp can be quite difficult to remove. Because the clamps must be removed and replaced multiple times to change the position of the textile, this is a major deficiency. In addition, the device of the '522 patent does not provide a structure for supporting the frame in a position comfortable and healthy for the user, either in orientation or height. Furthermore, the '522 frame design uses only clamps for tensioning, and does not provide an alternate frame design providing adequate means for tensioning materials for quilting without first basting the quilting layers together before actual quilting, as in the 2, 3, or 4 rotating pole wooden frames.